Understanding The Textures Of Leather

By Author: Aldan Shelette
Total Articles: 17
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Leather is classified based on the type of animal hide, the thickness, the finish and the part of the skin that is used to make the hide. Understanding basic terminology goes a long way in understanding the different textures of leather which is determined by the above mentioned factors. Different types of leather are preferred for different uses. The most common and easily available leather is made from cow skin. This leather is used for many uses from boots to tooled leather crafts based on its cut. Similarly, various accessories like briefcases, purses, wallets and home furnishings are made from goat skin leather.

Popular Cow Hide Lather

Cow hide is most popular for making leather. Since cow hide is thick, the hide is sliced into two pieces, the underside and the top side and this process results in thinner leather. The process of splitting at a tannery involves running the wet hide through a splitter and based on the thickness of the hide results in two or more splits. The top layer is called the grain leather and is premium quality hide. The underside has a suede finish and is called split leather. Cow split ...
... leather is preferred for the manufacture of garments especially those that are not exposed to water or other elements as this leather is neither strong nor easy to waterproof.

Versatile Cow Hide Leather

A representative of the many types of leather, split cow leather has an attractive finish yet the price is much lower than top or cow grain leather. It is used primarily for making saddles as it is very soft and fuzzy. Garments, boots, wallets, belts and purses too are manufactured from this leather. The boots though not as durable as those made from full-grain leather are cost effective and can last for a reasonable time with proper care. Split leather is also used for making decorative pieces as it can be painted on with ease. In fact this leather is very versatile and easily available in an astonishing range of colours. The unlimited potential of this particular cut lends itself to different techniques like dying, stamping and embossing enabling designers to use it in many different ways.

Nappa and Suede Leather

Goat and kid skin are both much demanded types of leather especially for manufacture of women’s dresses. Nappa leather is manufactured from goat skin leather by tanning un-split kid skin with aluminum sulfate or chromium salts. It is flexible, soft and stretchy leather available as full grain, corrected grain and suede. Suede leather is made by treating kid skin using a sandpapering and abrading technique called ‘sueding’ and subsequent treatment with natural and chemical solutions. Lightweight, soft and porous yet very strong kidskin is very resilient and lends great latitude for designing and is also more expensive than side leather. Morocco is popular soft goatskin leather.

Aldan Shelette is one of the best an author in writing of Indian Leather Company, Leather Suppliers and goat skin leather. He is also working on